


Silver Linings

by notyourmartyr



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: AU, Fluff, M/M, implied alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 04:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2334875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notyourmartyr/pseuds/notyourmartyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil Palmer, Voice of Night Vale, is having a really, really shitty day, and it only gets worse when someone crashes into his car. Just as he's about to unleash his frustration, however, he realizes...well, you should probably just read and see. </p><p>Possibly misrated because there is a bit of language, but sure me. Or don't actually, I'd rather not. Fluff. AU. No real established relationship, just flirting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silver Linings

Fuck. Everything.  
  
That was literally the mood Cecil Gershwin Palmer was in when he slid into his car at the end of his day. Who were they kidding? Thinking they could - He was the _Voice of Night Vale_ for crying out loud! It was his silhouette on all the posters, promoting the radio station! It was his hand people wanted to shake, and his John Fucking Hancock they wanted on the pictures they shoved at him at the meet and greets!  
  
Cecil Gershwin Palmer did _not_ do Co-Hosts, and he _especially_ did not co-host with _Steve Carlsburg_.

What had he done to deserve this? It was bad enough he had to deal with the man on a semi-regular basis. He tried to get out of the bi-weekly dinners. He really did, but his sister was having nothing of it, and Janice…he couldn’t abandon her like that. He loved that kid, and if something ever happened to her mother.... He shuddered at the thought. No, he was going to sit down with his sister, _again,_ and have a long discussion with her about the fact that if something happened to her, he wanted custody of Janice. Granted, last time they had that discussion, it hadn’t ended well. His sister had cited the alcohol in his house, and his constant nights spent up way too late watching the Beams knew what on television. More importantly, he was _too busy_ to dedicate himself to her in a way that his sister would even consider. At least, that was what she said. In Cecil’s eyes, anyone was better than Steve.   
  
Still, he was going to walk up to Station Management tomorrow and…and what? He’d never had any luck talking to them before, and he always stayed. He never left Night Vale, couldn’t leave his city alone, and they would remind him that the _situation_ with Steve was only temporary. People had been calling in for weeks, since they had had that debate over the phone – you know, the one about the aliens, where Steve had called in to tell Cecil that the UFO was just a weather balloon, and he needed to relax and stop putting people into a panic. People had _loved_ it, had called in for days after, and had begged them to have Steve on the show, even if only for a little bit. So, management had conceded, much to Cecil’s displeasure. They hadn’t even _asked_ him. They had just sent an intern in to tell him that starting next week, he’d be dealing with the pest that was his brother in law for at least a small two hour spot every day.

Someone out there in the universe must hate him.   
  
He thought as he drove, bypassing the Arby’s and Big Rico’s in favor of the liquor store just a block from his apartment. It didn’t take long for him to square things away, and was backing his car out into the street again when –

That crunch and lurch were not good sounds.   
  
He was out of his car in an instant, long fingers tugging at his hair as he stared at the crumpled bumper in anguish, “My _caaar_! What did you!? Weren’t you even looking? Do you even know who I-“ his voice cut off as his gaze moved from the damage to his vehicle to the person who had stepped out of the other vehicle. The other man wasn’t even looking at him, rummaging through his wallet, but that wasn’t why Cecil stopped. No, he didn’t stop talking because the person seemed to not be listening, he stopped talking because, well, _damn_.   
  
Night Vale wasn’t a big town. A suburb of Desert Bluffs, though they didn’t ever really rely on the larger city about a half-hours drive down the interstate, preferring to shop in town, at the little mom and pop stores, and the handful of larger chains that populated their small, but flourishing city. It was small enough that someone like Cecil – someone with a bit of notoriety – knew virtually everyone in town. A handful of kids, sure, but he was familiar of all the adults, at least by sight. This man, however, he was not familiar with.   
  
The broad set of his shoulders seemed relaxed as he continued to move through his wallet, which had far too many business cards and receipts shoved in the confines. His dark hair, greying at the temples, was mussed slightly, tousled waves falling into his eyes despite the band that was situated an inch or so from his forehead. The firm line of his jaw was peppered with stubble, and when he finally glanced up at Cecil, the radio host could just make out the glint of amber-tinted eyes behind the thick-framed spectacles, and the well groomed tuft of hair the stubble was tamed away from.   
  
Cecil was still standing, slack jawed, when the man crossed the distance, extending a darkly tanned hand toward him, “I’m sorry about the car, I…I’m new around here and I glanced away for a moment to check my directions and…”  
  
A shake of his head as he took the card, glancing down – Car insurance. _Carlos_. The name was painstakingly scrawled there, marked out twice in messy script before printed carefully at the bottom, along with what was most likely the license plate number of the car. Clearing his throat, Cecil tried to find his voice, “It’s, uh – it’s fine. Where were you headed? Maybe I could direct you to?”  
  
As Cecil spoke, Carlos did as well, “I don’t think she’s going to run anymore. She was already having issues. I’m surprised I made it this far. I’m a scientist, but not a mechanic and…”  
  
The radio host stopped, laughter bubbling from his chest, and Carlos smiled, running his fingers through the stray hairs finally, and glancing around. “Is there a cab company in Night Vale?”  
  
Another shake of Cecil’s head, “No. There _is_ a bus system, but I think my car still runs. I could take you.”

The scientist blushed faintly, difficult to see with his skin tone, under the light of the slowly illuminating street lamps, and he glanced back to the other man, “Shouldn’t one of us call the police?”  
  
“Oh, I’m sure they already know. They usually do. Won’t bother them at all if we go ahead and leave,” Cecil assured him, moving over to assess the damage on his vehicle closely, stealing more gazes toward the scientist who was fumbling in the back seat of his car. “Where were you headed again?”  
  
“Coyote Corners Apartments? I uh, just got in from Texas, supposed to be starting with some research out at the canyon,” came the reply, as Cecil decided the damage wasn’t really that bad, considering _he_ had already ripped the mirrors out of the damn thing.   
  
“Really? Interesting.” Straightening, he leaned against the side of his car. “You know,” he mused, glancing up at the sky – mostly void, partly stars – “if you hadn’t been so cute, I think I’d still be yelling at you.”  
  
There was a yelp from the other vehicle, and he glanced over to see the scientist rubbing the back of his head as he emerged from the back of the car with a duffle bag, making his way over to Cecil. His hand stuck out again, empty this time, and he managed, “Carlos.”  
  
“Cecil. Cecil Palmer,” his hand felt small, and looked pale, almost glowing against the warmth of Carlos’, but he kept a firm grip on the shake, smiling broadly. “Welcome to Night Vale.”

**Author's Note:**

> Response to the post on tumblr with a bunch of AU prompts, including:
> 
> 'i'm having a shit day and you just crashed into my car so i was gonna give you hell but wow you're really hot' au


End file.
